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Posted May 22, 2014, 10:51 PM
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BANNED
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: lodged against an abutment
Posts: 7,556
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Energy Department Announces Projects to Advance Cost-Effective Concentrating Solar Power Systems
May 21, 2014 - 12:18pm
The Energy Department today announced $10 million for six new research and development projects that will advance innovative concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies. The projects will develop thermochemical energy storage systems to enable more efficient storage of solar energy while using less storage material, cutting the cost for utility-scale CSP electricity generation as a result. Also today, the Department released a new report highlighting the progress of five major CSP deployment projects that are already producing clean, renewable energy.
“By improving energy storage technologies for concentrating solar power systems, we can enhance our ability to provide clean and reliable solar power, even when the sun is not shining,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
Concentrating solar power technologies use mirrors to focus and concentrate sunlight onto a receiver from which a heat transfer fluid carries the intense thermal energy to a power block to generate electricity. The research and development projects announced today will explore and develop novel thermochemical energy storage systems, which could store the sun's energy at high densities and temperatures in the form of chemical bonds. The chemical compounds used to store the chemical energy are later broken down to release energy when needed. Six teams from universities, national laboratories and research institutes, working with industrial partners, will test different chemical processes for CSP thermochemical energy storage that could further advance CSP technology, helping the industry step closer to meeting the SunShot Initiative’s technical and cost targets for CSP and moving the U.S. toward its clean energy future.
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http://www.energy.gov/articles/energ...ng-solar-power
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From: Click Green Staff, ClickGreen, More from this Affiliate
Published May 21, 2014 10:00 AM
Technology reducing cost of solar panels by half
A world expert on solar panels will today outline how his pioneering work is set to significantly improve the performance of solar panels whilst simultaneously contributing to their cost being reduced by half. The technology will be commercialized within the next five years.
Professor Stuart Wenham, from the University of New South Wales (UNSW Australia), receive the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) A F Harvey Engineering Research Prize of £300,000 in recognition of his work. He was chosen from high caliber candidates from across the world to be awarded the IET's biggest prize, which will enable the continuation of his groundbreaking work.
Professor Wenham's research has uncovered a mechanism to control hydrogen atoms to correct deficiencies in silicon — the most costly part of a solar cell. His process allows lower-quality silicon to outperform solar cells made from better quality materials.
Professor Wenham said: "It is a great honor to receive the A F Harvey Engineering Prize and the international recognition that it brings to our breakthrough technology. Our research team at UNSW, which has held the world record in silicon solar cell efficiency for many years, has discovered how to control the charge state of hydrogen atoms in silicon and we will be working with the world’s biggest manufacturers to commercialize this low-cost technology. This generous prize will go a long way to helping us take this research to the next stage."
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http://www.enn.com/sustainability/article/47413
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May 22, 2014
Organic PV Modules Pass Stress Test
Fraunhofer ISE presents its flexible, large-area PV module at the LOPEC conference
Press Release 11/14, May 22, 2014
A completely flexible solar PV module of circa 90 square centimeters is the centerpiece of Fraunhofer ISE’s booth at the upcoming LOPEC – the International Exhibition and Conference for Printed Electronics. Because this PV module is produced without indium-tin-oxide (ITO), an expensive compound normally used in organic photovoltaics, it also saves costs. A barrier layer in the module serves as a durable encapsulation, and the module-integrated solar cells have successfully passed the accelerated humidity-temperature test for thin-film photovoltaics. The LOPEC takes place from 26-28 May in Munich.
Using roll-to-roll manufacturing, the Freiburg researchers are working on a process to cost-effectively fabricate large area foils of organic photovoltaic solar cells. All of the layers, except the metal electrodes, are manufactured on the machine at Fraunhofer ISE. Depositing the silver grid lines for the front side contacts is carried out by a screen printing process, in cooperation with and in the technical laboratory of the industry partner Thieme. The module is sealed with a special barrier foil, allowing it to be completely flexible.
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http://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/pres...ss-stress-test
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Trina Solar Becomes First Solar PV Module Supplier to Guide 1GW of Quarterly Shipments
Posted by Ray Lian in Solarbuzz, Solar on May 22, 2014 | 0 Comments
On 21 May 2014, Trina Solar released its Q1 2014 financial results, revealing improved profitability and remarkable module shipment guidance for Q2’14.
Trina Solar is guiding between 950 MW and 1,010 MW of module shipments for this quarter (Q2’14). This is the first time a solar PV company has guided over 1 GW of module shipments within one quarter.
Looking back, Yingli Green Energy was close to this benchmark during Q4’13, with record industry shipments then of more than 900 MW. In early June, Yingli will release its guidance for Q2’14, and may also provide data which approaches – or even exceeds – the 1GW level for quarterly shipment guidance.
As shown in the figure, both Yingli and Trina have been able to increase quarterly module shipments considerably in the past few years. However, both companies missed guidance for Q1’14, allowing Sharp Solar to become the largest module supplier globally by shipment volume.
The eventual winner of the Q2’14 shipment race will not be known for a few months, when either Yingli or Trina is expected to return to pole position for quarterly solar PV module shipment volumes. Whether either, or both, companies break through the GW barrier will be closely monitored as a leading indicator going into 2H’14.
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http://www.displaysearchblog.com/201...rly-shipments/
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Proposed UK Policy Changes Cause 215 Solar PV Farm Prospects to Be Re-Evaluated, According to NPD Solarbuzz
Santa Clara, California, May 21, 2014—The outcome of proposals for 215 ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) farms in the United Kingdom, with capacities in excess of 5 megawatts (MW), are now being re-evaluated, according to findings in the NPD Solarbuzz UK Deal Tracker. This re-evaluation follows new, and unexpected, proposals from the U.K. government to adjust incentive mechanisms for ground-mounted solar PV farms beginning in April 2015.
“Ground-mounted solar PV capacity deployed in the U.K. has exceeded 2 gigawatts during the past two years,” noted Finlay Colville, vice president at NPD Solarbuzz. “While there was no official cap placed on ground-mounted PV solar farms, recent installation rates appear to be well above the levels the government was expecting.”
The proposed changes from the U.K.’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) include restricting Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) to new solar PV farms below 5 MW in size, beginning in April 2015. Previously, the U.K. industry assumed ROCs would be available to any size of ground-mounted solar PV farm, until March 2017.
“If the proposed changes by the DECC go ahead, it will force investors and developers of large-scale solar farms in the U.K. to shift to the Contracts for Difference scheme, two years earlier than expected,” added Colville. “Combined with the threat that ground-mounted solar farms that remain on ROCs could have a capacity-based degression mechanism imposed, the prospects for U.K. solar farms can now be divided into three new size categories.”
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http://www.solarbuzz.com/news/recent...e-evaluated-ac
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Interest In Solar Energy Rises, Even In Saudi Arabia
By Andy Tully | Wed, 21 May 2014 21:00
Countries around the world are showing increased interest in developing solar energy but perhaps none is more unusual than Saudi Arabia, which exports more oil than any other nation.
At a recent petrochemical conference in Bahrain, Khalid Al-Falih, the CEO of the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Aramco, noted that demand for crude oil in Saudi Arabia has risen “to the point where volumes meant for exports may fall to unacceptably low levels in the coming two decades.”
Al-Falih said his company has made preliminary plans to develop facilities that would generate 300 megawatts of solar power in remote areas of his country, where diesel fuel is currently used to generate power.
The Aramco CEO also pointed to the company’s move to set up a small solar-power generator in Saudi Arabia’s Farasan Island in the southern Red Sea, not only to avoid burning diesel fuel, but also because of the steep cost of shipping the fuel there.
Until now, Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy initiative has been under the control of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, or KaCare, a government agency. Two years ago, KaCare announced that it was seeking $109 billion in investments to establish a solar energy industry by 2032.
But progress on that initiative is too slow, according to Gasem al-Shaikh, who runs the energy unit at Saudi Binladin Group, and that is why Aramco is taking over Saudi Arabia’s effort to establish a solar energy industry.
“The government solar plan is moving very slow, and we are hearing about it for some time, but it’s not maturing as fast as it should,” al-Shaikh said in an interview with Bloomberg News in Manama, Bahrain’s capital. “The country can’t wait. We are burning more [fossil fuels] every year, and that’s why Saudi Aramco now is taking the lead.”
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http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-Ne...di-Arabia.html
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PV installations in China to reach 13.5 GW, including 4 GW of rooftop, says IHS
22. May 2014 | Global PV markets, Industry & Suppliers, Markets & Trends, Trade show | By: Edgar Meza
Despite some lower estimates by industry sources, IHS is standing by its earlier forecast for distributed PV installations in China this year.
Market research group IHS is sticking with its previous forecast of distributed PV (DPV) power in China this year despite some industry estimates at this year’s SNEC PV Power Expo in Shanghai of a markedly smaller rollout.
Speaking to pv magazine, Ash Sharma, senior director of Solar Research at IHS Technology, agrees that "there are concerns over China's ability to install distributed PV and so far this year, demand has been weak in China. However we do still expect around 4 GW of distributed PV to be installed this year and total installations to reach approximately 13.5 GW."
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http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/deta...ihs_100015164/
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World’s biggest solar PV tracking plant completed in US
By Sophie Vorrath on 22 May 2014
Construction of the world’s largest single-axis tracking solar PV plants – the 206 MW Mount Signal Solar farm in south east California – has been completed and is ready to generate enough electricity to power 72,000 households in San Diego and surrounds.
The project – constructed and commissioned in a record 16 months by Spanish multinational Abengoa, for Silver Ridge Power – covers 801 hectares and includes more than three million photovoltaic modules that will rotate on a north-south axis, following the path of the sun. This will help lift the output from the plant.
Based in Virginia US, Silver Ridge Power (formerly AES Solar) is one of the world’s largest photovoltaic owner-operators, with a stake in 51 utility-scale PV plants totalling around 522MW in operation or under construction in seven different countries around the world.
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http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/aben...lifornia-64379
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Middle Eastern Money Oils Wheels of Solar Expansion
Next time you fill your gas tank, be reassured that some of the profits, at least, are going towards developing and expanding renewables in the developing world.
Jeremy Bowden, International Correspondent
May 22, 2014 | 0 Comments
“The bottom line now is the opportunity cost of burning oil”, said Khan. “That is the key driver of renewable development here, as countries see domestic consumption from power generation and industrial uses diverting oil production and eating into export earnings…For example, if the world’s biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, does not bring on alternatives — and that means renewables — it will be an oil importer by 2035.”
“Every dollar spent on renewable generation here, means more oil is kept available for export, and we also plan to deliver this renewable technology to the wider developing world. Renewable energy has been ignored in Asia and Africa, now it is moving centre stage here, too. I expect the global share of renewables to rise more quickly in coming years.”
Enertech is the branch of Kuwait’s National Technology Enterprises Company, (NTEC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund), responsible for strategic investment in renewables and clean technology. Its mandate is to pick and introduce suitable renewable technologies to Kuwait, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and wider developing world. Unsurprisingly, given the region’s intense year-round sunshine, the company is especially active in solar energy.
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http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/...olar-expansion
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